Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, March 14, 1990 TAG: 9003142975
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MARK LAYMAN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
And if it does, "you'd better hold on to your hats," because the city surely will come up with its own list of changes, he said.
Johnson, who was the county's chief consolidation negotiator, raised objections to each of the changes suggested by Chairman Dick Robers and Supervisors Steve McGraw and Lee Eddy.
But he was voted down, 3-1.
Supervisor Harry Nickens, who had said he didn't like the suggested changes either, arrived late and missed the vote.
Robers will send a letter to Roanoke Mayor Noel Taylor outlining the changes and asking for City Council's approval.
The changes are simply an effort to make the plan more acceptable to Roanoke County voters, Robers said.
Johnson said he doubted any county residents would be swayed by the changes. But he was resigned to the outcome of Tuesday's vote. "It's obvious you three have got together; you each have your wish list," he told Robers, McGraw and Eddy.
The changes the county is suggesting are:
That the school board of the consolidated Roanoke Metropolitan Government have an equal number of representatives from the former city and the former county, with a court-appointed tie-breaker.
Under the current plan, the school board would have nine members - five from the city and four from the county. Because of that, some county residents fear the school board would be dominated by the city.
Johnson questioned whether equal representation on the school board would be legal, because the county has only three-fourths the population of the city.
As for the suggestion of a tie-breaker, he said, "I can't believe we'd even consider that."
That residents of Mason Cove, Bennett Springs and the Catawba Valley be given the chance to become part of Salem if the consolidation plan is approved. Now, only residents who live west of Virginia 311, between Fort Lewis Mountain and Poor Mountain, would get that chance, and only if a financial settlement with Salem is approved.
The majority on the board also wants residents of subdivisions along Virginia 24 and Hardy Road in East Roanoke County to get the chance to vote on whether to become part of the town of Vinton if the plan is approved. Now, the plan allows Vinton to expand its boundary to include those subdivisions without a vote.
That current city-county boundary lines not be used for "urban" and "suburban" service districts in the consolidated government.
That change has been pushed by Eddy, who has said that using the current city-county boundary lines would perpetuate "the old `us versus them' mentality."
But Johnson pointed out that former county residents in the suburban district would pay a lower real estate tax rate than they do now - and a lower tax rate than former city residents in the urban district. Yet they would get virtually the same public services.
"You win some battles in negotiating and you lose some" - and that was the county's biggest win, he said.
Any changes to the plan would have to be approved by both City Council and the Board of Supervisors.
The supervisors voted 4-1, with McGraw dissenting, against suggesting that the plan be sent to the state Commission on Local Government for its review. The commission works with localities to settle boundary disputes and makes recommendations to courts in annexation cases.
County Attorney Paul Mahoney said the plan apparently doesn't need the commission's approval.
But McGraw wants it to go to the commission so residents will have one more chance to suggest changes.
Eddy and Robers said they might go along with the suggestion after they see what action City Council takes on the changes suggested by the county.
But Johnson said there was no point in further delay. "Both sides are ready to vote" on the plan, he said.
by CNB